Tennis ace tops money charts without playing single match
Roger Federer continues to rake in the most money in tennis even though the Swiss icon remains sidelined with a long-term knee injury, according to a new list by Forbes magazine.
Posting its traditional chart on the eve of the US Open, Forbes named the biggest tennis earners across the previous 12 months.
There were plenty of familiar faces on the list but also emerging starts hinting at where the sport’s future lies.
Federer, 41, brought in an estimated $90 million in the past year before taxes and agents’ fees were taken into consideration.
The entirety of that that haul is made up of sponsorship and other income, with not a single dollar made in prize money.
The 20-time Grand Slam winner has not played competitively since Wimbledon in the summer of 2021 after struggling with a knee injury, but is targeting an autumn comeback to the court.
His finances have hardly suffered in the meantime as Federer enjoys bumper pay from deals with the likes of Rolex, Uniqlo and a share of Swiss running shoe brand On.
The world’s highest-paid tennis player for the 17th year in a row: Roger Federer 👑He'll earn $90M in 2022, per @forbes, without playing a single match.Federer will make nearly double that of any other tennis player — solely from sponsors like Uniqlo, Rolex and equity in On. pic.twitter.com/Y4J6aWEZTS
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) August 25, 2022
Second on the list – and by some distance – is Japanese women’s ace Naomi Osaka.
The four-time Grand Slam winner has seen diminished returns on court in recent months, but – like Federer – has a healthy sponsorship portfolio with companies such as Nike and her her skincare line Kinlò.
That has helped the 24-year-old pocket $56.2 million for the year in question, with $55 million of that coming off the court.
Serena Williams, who is set to retire after the upcoming US Open, is third on the list with $35.1 million – just $100,000 came through prize money.
Further down, Spanish great Rafael Nadal’s income is somewhat more balance as $6.4 million of his total $31.4 million earnings came from success on the court.
So far in 2022, Nadal has taken his record men’s Grand Slam singles title haul to 22 with titles at the Australian and French Opens.
Generational rival Novak Djokovic – banned from two Grand Slams this year because of his status as unvaccinated against Covid-19 – is listed as number five by Forbes with $27.1 million overall, including $7.1 million in on-court earnings.
British teenager Emma Raducanu has cashed in on her stunning run to the US Open title in 2021 by earning a total $21.1 million to put her at number six.
The 19-year-old won $3.1 million on court but was lavished with sponsorship offers after her unlikely success ended the UK’s long wait for a female Grand Slam singles champion.
Raducanu has signed deals with the likes of Evian, British Airways, Porsche and Tiffany in the past year.
Russian tennis makes an entry on the list at number seven in the form of reigning US Open champion and current ATP world number one Daniil Medvedev.
The Moscow-born star, 26, has won $7.3 million on court – the highest amount on the list – but has boosted his annual coffers to $19.3 million through sponsorship with companies including Lacoste, BMW and Chinese distillery Guojiao 1573.
Rounding out the top ten are Japanese star Kei Nishikori on $13.2 million ($0.2 million on court), American veteran Venus Williams on $12 million ($0.03 million on court), and rising Spanish teenage star Carlos Alcaraz on $10.9 million ($5.9 million on court).
